(contact us via e-shop facility) click here to return to Home

Glossary of Terms .....

ARTISTS PROOF - These are the copies of the final proofs that the artist signs as they are getting the colours and tonal values correct before commencing the print run itself. More commonly seen in intaglio and screen processes, as in litho (on a commercial level) they are approved before printing starts. This is enabled more now, as with computer technology, a lot of the proofing will be done on an inkjet printer that emulates the press colours. See also Proofing..

COLOUR CORRECTION - Manipulation of channels, shades, hues, contrast and levels of individual colours before printing to eliminate any colour casts and imbalances from the original or scanned image.

COLOUR MANAGEMENT - A system of control over the input and output devices on how they interpret the colours they are using. This is often done in an image manipulation software program such as Photoshop before printing, or for production based environments where more accurate and consistent results are required, RIP software will be used that contains colour profiles created to match colours when printing on different colours of papers. This process of getting the file to a correct stage is often referred to as proofing. See also: RIP and Workflow.

CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, yellow and Key (Black). Process colours. A colour system used by printers to combine each colour on a different printing plate to make up a full colour image. 4 colour printing. (Most giclée printers will print to an inkjet printer in RGB however, as there is better (wider) colour gamut, and scanners capture images in RGB). These are the primary colours of the halftone printing process (offset lithography).

DIGITAL CAMERA / SCANBACK - A camera that captures information in a digital file, rather than on film. Digital cameras eliminate the film process of reproducing an image therefore allowing for less colour casts etc. The digital data will also archive better. A Scanback is a professional back for large format studio photography. The digital back scans directly onto a computer and many are capable of creating files of 300 - 500MB. This process is still very costly however, and requires a sound photographic knowledge as well.

DIGITAL PRINT- A print that is created on an Inkjet printer from a digital file on a computer. See also Giclée.

DPI - Dots per inch. The measurement units of the output device quality of print. It refers to the number of dots a printer can print per inch. I.e.: a print at 600dpi will have 36000 dots on one square inch or the paper (600 x 600). It also refers to the dots per inch of a scanned image. See also Resolution.

FILE FORMATS - The information of a digital file is stored in various file extensions / formats. The formats are either based in the application program that created the file, .psd is a PhotoShop file for example, or a more universal format that is supported by most imaging programs. Tiff and Jpeg. Some compress information in the image more so it creates smaller files. Whilst this is good for storage space and e mailing, information will be lost in the image when you come to print it. (tiff, jpeg, Psd, GIF, and EPS.)

FOURDRINIER PAPER - A natural paper that is produced on a fourdrinier paper machine. A twin wire moving continuously over several rollers is applied to the saturated pulp and the paper web forms. The paper is taken off the wire and inserted into the machine via pre-selected natural felt rollers, and then pressed and dried in several stages.

The weights in the range are from 150-450gsm and available in many different sizes and quality of surface texture. As with the mould made papers it can be used with watercolours and all wet and dry techniques. Also due to the high quality of the product it can also be used in many printing processes.

GAMUT - is the colour range that different types of output device or ink sets can process and create certain colours in that particular range.

GICLÉE - Term referring to a digital print from a digitised image outputted from computer to an inkjet printer. It usually should refer to a limited edition, fine art print, onto archival quality coated paper, and printed with pigment inks, which are UV stable. The blue Wool scale is a print standards scale set by the Fine Art Trade Guild, and it specifies a score of 6 or above, on paper over 250gsm, to qualify for the title of a giclée print that has longevity.

HAND EMBELLISHED - A process of painting onto a giclée edition after it is printed. The artist will usually pick out certain areas to highlight, either to create a texture similar to the original, or to pick out gold and metallic colours that can't be reproduced.

HOLOGRAM SYSTEM - A system that was launched to ensure that artists prints are not able to be copied, and the authenticity can be recognised. It consists of an alphanumeric hologram that goes on the back of a numbered print, and one of the same number on a certificate of authenticity.

INTAGLIO - Refers to a print process where the image is created by a metal plate being bitten with acid or scratched on the surface of the printing plate. When the plate is inked up ink will be pushed into the bitten lines or areas and this is what will create the image in reverse directly onto the paper when rolled thorough the press. Processes include etching, engraving, mezzotint, dry-point, aquatint and photo etching.

IRIS - A certain type of inkjet printer that was first used for reproducing artwork onto fine art papers.

IT8 - is a range of colour targets for colour characterisation of different devices and media such as scanners and printers. Used for making colour profiles to get consistent colours on different papers. This is the industry standard colour reference tool for calibration input and output devices.

LIGHT-FASTNESS - The rate at which dyes, pigments and paints change colour or get lighter as a result of being exposed to UV or daylight, heat, acids or alkalis. The expected or estimated life of a print can be measured by tests such as the Blue Wool scale (UK) and the Wilhelm laboratory reports (USA). However the light-fastness can be affected by the combination of ink and paper used and therefore all the inks may not fade at the same rate.

LIMITED EDITION - A limited edition has a closed number of prints in the print run. Once this number of prints has been made, no more copies of the images can be reproduced or sold. This can add value to a print. In Lithography 850 is the usual standard number in the print run, at the artist or publisher's discretion. With Giclée the numbers can be much smaller if desired. However, The Fine Art Trade Guild conditions state that if it is declared a limited edition print no more tan 1950 copies (including the artists proof) must be produced.

LITHOGRAPHY - High volume, 4-colour separation, process ink based printing process. Commercially called offset lithography and is the quickest and commonest form of photomechanical reproduction. Artwork is scanned then separated in the CMYK colour channels onto 4 printing plates, printed in succession to create a full colour image. Separate colours can be added on a separate plate to create special effects such as gold ink or a varnished area that can not be made up from CMYK in the standard Pantone range. These are called spot colours. Artists still use offset and stone lithography to create artwork, but by hand are a much lengthier process. The basic technique for both methods is that grease repels water and these are the areas that will remain white, the rest of the areas will accept ink and therefore print. (See also planographic printing.)

MOULD MADE PAPER - Mould made watercolour boards offer good colour flow and brightness. This makes them usable not only for watercolour but also for gouache, tempers, lavis, and for charcoal and pencil drawings. Produced on a cylinder mould made machine and then taken off and fed through natural felt rolls, in weights ranging from 200-600gsm.

OPEN EDITION - referring usually to offset litho prints and the fact that there is no limit to the number of prints produced from this image. An open edition also means it can be produced in various sizes, on cards and clothes etc.

PIGMENT INK - Pigment inks are literally pigments of colour ground down very fine and suspended in a liquid to make ink, compared to dye ink, which is a dye suspended in liquid. As with other types of colour, this produces a more lightfast material or ink that will take longer to fade. Current pigment based inks on the market can be anywhere up to 100+ years lightfast, but this depends on a number of factors such as ink manufacturer, paper type and storage conditions. Pigment inks can tend to have a smaller colour gamut than dye-based inks.

PLATE MARK - The indentation at the edge of a printed image caused by the plate pressing into the paper as it goes through the printing press. These types of marks are created in etching and intaglio print processes where the image is contained on a metal plate.

PROFILE - Refers to specific colour settings to be used with different papers and ink sets, to create the correct colour reproduction. It is used to transform from one colour space to another.

RESOLUTION - The higher the resolution of a scanned image the more information is held. The resolution of an image is measured in 'dpi' dots per inch. The 'dots' refer to the pixels that make up a digital image. So for example a resolution of 150dpi means that in each inch of the image there are 22500 pixels (150 x 150) in every square inch. This is also referred to as ppi, pixels per inch and sometimes just as 'res' which is the metric resolution per millimetre (e.g.: res 12 is equivalent to 305 ppi).

RGB - Red, Green and Blue. This colour system cannot be used for planographic printing such as lithography, but is often used in digital printing, the files stay in this format. The actual inks in the printer however are still CMYK, often with the additional colours of light cyan, light magenta, an extra black and sometimes orange and green (called hexichrome) to give wider colour gamut and better tonal graduation.
RGB are the primary colours of light, which are different to the primary colours of pigments in paints and inks.

RIP - Raster Image Processor. Raster images are made from bitmap rather than vector grids. Rasterisation is the process of converting mathematical and digital data into dots by an output device. Therefore, the job of a RIP is not only to do this but it also helps to increase images to large sizes without as much loss of information or pixelation as doing the same process in PhotoShop. ICC profiles can also be attached to the RIP software for colour management purposes.

SCANNER - An input device in which to capture a piece of artwork onto a computer as a digital file. A scanner uses light sensitivity to translate the picture into a pattern of dots.
Types of scanner: Flatbed scanner, drum scanner, transparency scanner, scanback and digital camera.

SERIGRAPH - A term used to describe silk screen prints, or prints where flat colour is built up in layers to create an image. Each colour requires a separate screen, and therefore makes it a costly process for doing limited edition print runs.

WORKFLOW (closed loop system) - This refers to having a complete system of scanner, monitor, software, printer and paper which are all calibrated up to each other. This makes colour management easier and quicker.